NEWS RELEASE
PUBLIC INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
PO Box 567, Buies Creek, NC 27506
Tel: (910) 893-1224 w Fax: (910) 893-1922
Campbell Inaugurates
Fourth President in 117-Year History
|
Dr. Jerry M. Wallace addresses the
guests at his
inauguration as the fourth president of Campbell
University. photo
by Bennett Scarborough |
Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, former U.S.
Senator Jesse Helms, and Dr. Jim Royston, executive director of the
Baptist State Convention, were among approximately 1,000 guests who
attended the inauguration of Dr. Jerry M. Wallace as the fourth
president of Campbell University. Wallace was inaugurated Friday,
April 2, on the mall of the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business. A
chilly wind stirred the banks of state and international flags that
flanked the platform, as state officials, members of the Campbell
faculty, Board of Trustees, Presidential Board of Advisors, alumni,
and friends brought greetings in the raw afternoon.
"It is a distinct, personal privilege for me to be
here today representing Governor Easley and the people of North
Carolina," said Secretary Marshall, a 1981 graduate of Campbell's
Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law. "Campbell University plays an
important role in our state's history and in our future. Never has
the mission to educate the next generation been more important than
now.
"But we must do more than educate," Marshall continued. "We
must give guidance and moral direction as well. I know your vision for
Campbell University, Dr. Wallace, is to continue to fulfill both of these
missions."
Ms. Yoong Lai Thye, principal of Tunku Abdul Rahman College in
Malaysia where Campbell established an extended campus program in 1979,
praised the university for its vision. "Your outreach has brought Campbell
international recognition," she said. "I represent many colleagues both past
and present who have worked with you and there are thousands of students who
now work around the world because of you."
Dr. Norman A. Wiggins, current chancellor and third president
of Campbell University, quoted a former president of Columbia University in
his remarks. "The passing of the power from one president to another is just
an incident," Wiggins said. "The university is everlasting. But it is a very
important incident. We will hold you in our prayers and in our hearts."
Accepting the oath of office, administered by Frederick
Taylor, chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees and
Trustee Chairman Harold Wells, Wallace expressed his appreciation to many,
especially his wife and children and his mentors, Dr. and Mrs. Wiggins.
"I say thank you for inviting me to come to Campbell 34 years
ago, and for having confidence enough to allow me to share the great mission
and calling of Campbell University," said Wallace. "This inauguration service
marks the ceremonial beginning of a new presidency, but it is much more. It is
a time to celebrate the great achievements of Campbell University, to
rededicate ourselves to Campbell's mission, and to set forth a vision for the
years ahead."
Among his many goals for the university, Wallace promised a
continuing resolve to look ahead and embrace new opportunities, to affirm
diversity, and to provide Campbell students an education in the context of a
Christian community. He pledged to respond to the existing and developing
needs of the region, state, and nation by providing new undergraduate,
graduate, and professional programs that complement and extend Campbell's
mission. He vowed to provide new and improved academic, residential,
student-life, and athletic programs and facilities; to challenge alumni to
greater involvement with Campbell; and to increase efforts to enlist new
benefactors from a broader constituency with a new marketing and advancement
plan.
"I enthusiastically welcome this great opportunity and
calling," Wallace said. "I welcome all who are assembled here today to join me
in accepting the great challenge of working together to ensure the success of
Campbell University. God being my Helper, I will do my best!"
As part of the service, the university presented Wallace with
a presidential ring, a reminder of the covenant he accepted as president, and
Wallace was named an Honorary Alumnus of the University.
A graduate of East Carolina University, Dr. Jerry M. Wallace
received Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees from Southeastern
Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition, he received a master's degree in
sociology and a Doctor of Education from North Carolina State University. He
joined the Campbell faculty in 1970 as an adjunct professor; then from 1975 to
1981, he served as chairman of the Department of Religion and Philosophy and
Tyner Professor of Religion. Wallace was later named dean of the university
and director of Graduate Studies; then appointed vice president of Academic
Affairs and provost, where he served from 1984 to 2001. After stepping away
from the provost position, Wallace served as a special assistant to President
Norman A. Wiggins and as the James R. Coates Professor of Religion and Society
in the Campbell Divinity School. He was elected president of Campbell
University on May 29, 2003.
Bulletin 0091 |
